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1. Overview

Genji is an offensive hero, and arguably the best DPS duelist in the
game due to his extreme mobility, high damage output, versatile kit, and small
hitbox. At 200 health, Genji is quite vulnerable, and, like Tracer, a
single wrong move will get him killed in the heat of battle. This is why Genji
players must always be two steps ahead of their opponents. "Measure twice,
cut once."

Genji has very high damage potential, but this comes from chaining together
Genji's abilities in true synergistic style, and not simply from spamming his
primary weapon (Shuriken). Using all of these abilities to chain
together a devastating combo requires high levels of skill, marked patience,
and true foresight into opponent play. Aside from high damage, Genji also has
very high mobility (rivaling, or according to some views, including our own:
surpassing Tracer's), allowing him to dash into an enemy team, kill a support,
and dash out before opponents know what happened (he is a ninja, after all).

Given this combination of traits, Genji should be played almost exclusively
as a flanking, backstabbing, and ambushing hero. Your goal as Genji is to get
behind enemy lines, burst down vulnerable targets (snipers, support heroes,
Bastion), and get out before you can be damaged. A good Genji will be
relentless: constantly harassing the enemy team's backline, forcing enemies to
"look for the ninja," while the rest of Genji's team plows over frustrated
opponents.

Although Genji has the damage potential to kill squishy heroes, those
that can last longer have good chances of repelling his attacks. Therefore,
tanks counter Genji to some degree if they can get in his face, however, Genji
can farm ultimate off of low mobility tanks like Zarya, Reinhardt, and Roadhog,
so there really is no "hard counter" to an exceptional Genji (which is why he is
the sixth most played hero in Overwatch League games.)

Finally, Genji's ultimate (Dragonblade) turns his high damage
potential into an almost unfair game of "sword tag." As such, Genji can
rip apart enemy teams (especially if they are stacked, as he can deal AoE
damage) during his ultimate. In fact, if Genji hits an enemy with a
Swift Strike and two Dragonblade hits, he can deal 290 damage in less
than 2 seconds, an output that effectively kills 19 of the 26 heroes in the
Overwatch universe. Add a Nano Boost, and Genji can deal 435 damage in
under 2 seconds, effectively killing a whopping 22 of the available 26
Overwatch heroes.

2. Strengths

Superb duelist

Excellent flanker

Ultimate (Dragonblade) provides massive burst damage potential,
and is very difficult to counter due to Genji's high mobility from
Cyber-Agility and his Swift Strike resets

3. Weaknesses

Very high skill cap

Easy to shut down if used improperly

4. Synergies

Zarya is Genji's best ally due to her ability to shield him with
Projected Barrier and group enemies together for an easy team kill when
combining Graviton Surge and Dragonblade. Zenyatta is
the best support hero for Genji since he can help him secure kills through
Orb of Discord and can keep him alive when he is ulting by using
Transcendence. Lastly, Winston is a great hero to use with
Genji due to their similar playstyles that can be combined to surprise and
burst down squishy enemies.

5. Counters

Genji is hard countered by abilities that lock onto him and heroes that can
chase him when he Swift Strikes away, which means Winston is
the best tank against Genji due to the auto-locking mechanics of
Tesla Cannon and his ability to chase Genji with Jump Pack.
Similarly, Moira is one of the best supports against Genji because she
can use her auto-locking Biotic Grasp (RMB) to leech health from him, giving
her self-sustain against his burst damage combo, and can dodge his
Swift Strike with Fade. A practiced Pharah can keep her
distance from the cyber-ninja's abilities while suppressing his flanks with
her Falcon Rocket Launcher and Concussive Blast.

6. Strong Against

Widowmaker has little chance to stand against a Genji who pounces on
her without sustaining a headshot. Ana's lack of escape abilities
and reliable self-sustain can make her an easy target for an aggressive Genji,
and her Nano Boost (while offensively helpful) forces her teammates to
suffer the full wrath of Genji's Dragonblade.

7. TL;DR Tips

Genji is a flanker! Unless he has Dragonblade available, he should never take on two undamaged enemies at once. The only time Genji should engage multiple enemies without backup is when he can kill one of them with a burst of Shuriken and Swift Strike.

Harassing as Genji is just as important as securing kills. If Genji can distract an enemy from a teamfight (especially a healer or DPS hero) while dealing damage to the enemy team, he is doing his job. Therefore, Genji players should never try to force kills in regular combat situations.

Waiting for the right opportunity to use Genji's Dragonblade can make the difference between a win or a loss. For this reason, Genji should always make sure that he can secure at least two kills with a Dragonblade if he chooses to use it on his own. More importantly, Genjis should coordinate Dragonblades with ally ultimates if possible. When coordinated correctly, there is little the enemy team can do to stop him from ripping through their ranks.

Swift Strike should rarely be used outside of securing kills, reaching caught out enemies, and escaping death.

Genji should constantly be using Cyber-Agility's double jumps to turn himself into a smaller hitbox that will frustrate attacking enemies.

Always use alternate fire Shuriken when face-to-face with enemies to maximize Genji's DPS.

8. About our Author

Mournflakes is a flex Grandmaster Overwatch player who boasts a career high SR
rating of 4433. His favorite heroes are Roadhog, Soldier: 76, and Ana. He has
played Overwatch since its initial release, and has put over 700 hours into
competitive play. When not writing guides, you can catch Mournflakes streaming
on his Twitch channel.